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Parental Involvement

Parental Involvement

It is so important for parents to be involved in the education of our students. it is up to our jos as teachers to welcome them in the classroom at an convienent time for the parent. I know that there are many different situations and obstacles that keep parents from the school. I need your help fellow teachers. Please give helpful suggestions in ways to use our parents as valuable resources in the school, community, and classrooms.

Your point is very insightful, most parents are not invovled in there childs school life which is very disappointing because in elementary these are the prime years for them. Parents do have their reason for not getting invovled such as not having transportation, having to work, are some even is just not interested. By getting invovled now helps not only the child but the teacher learn their students better and how they can be comfortable with the support if their parents.

Have parents volunteer simply to READ to and with your students. It can be individual. For example, parents can come in and sit with one student and listen to him/her read or read to them. OR it can be small group. Parents could come in and read a book aloud in a center. Or it could be whole group. Invite a parent to come in and be a guest reader during your read aloud time.

The best thing that has worked for me is having a parent come in and read to/with an individual. It is so hard to get all my students in myself as far as individual reading conferences. This gives even more students that one-on-one time while at the same time getting parents involved!

Parental involvement begins with open communication. If parents have access to computers, I set up an email folder that is created during back to school night. Once I have issued some classroom news letters, then I begin asking for volunteers...it works well because the parents seem to have a feeling of being empowered to communicate via a method that may not have been available before. Responses to emails will let you know who is interested in helping out...it also opens your side of the communication...I always ask loaded questions, like "Is 9:00 AM on Wednesday a good time for you to come read to the class?" Of course you might want to hear them read to you before they read to the class. Also, sending the book home with the student for the parent to preview first might help them feel more comfortable!
Jim